Pinterest: I’m afraid it’s time for the “Dear John ….” April 21, 2012
Posted by ianinsheffield in Musings, Resources, Tools.Tags: images, letter, Pinterest, tools
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cc licensed ( BY NC ) flickr photo by Thomas Hawk: http://flickr.com/photos/thomashawk/5818386623/
Dear Pinterest,
We’ve been together around 6 months I think and I’ve given it a go. I really have. I was shy at first, but eventually plucked up the courage to ask if I could join you. Yes you made me wait a while but then, to my joy you said yes. From that moment there’s lots I’ve ‘Liked,’ plenty I’ve ‘Followed,’ Pins I’ve made and other I’ve Repinned, but … well it’s just not working out.
I like how easy you make it to Pin things; click on the bookmarklet, choose a board, add a bit of text (if I want) and that’s it. Marvellous! I also liked at first how you were always telling me what others were pinning and liking and what they thought of my pins – it helped me know whether what I was doing right and how to link with other folks … but to be honest, it’s beginning to wear a bit thin. Actually yes, maybe that’s it? It’s just too thin … no wait, shallow. Sorry!
I began to think there’s got to be more to it than this. Why am I pinning all these things? For whom?
- You? Well I have to say you worried quite a few people on that front, but at least you realised and tried to put things right.
- Other people then? There’s no denying you’re popular; quite the centre of attention in fact. But your circle of friends is just too … well, too girly! It’s all about cakes and clothes and, well you know I like cooking, but you’ve seen the way I dress! Yes you make it easy to share with others, but don’t you see you’re inflicting your choices on them instead of making it easy for them to choose what they take away?
- Me? This gets to the heart of things really. Yes I can choose my own stuff and yes you let me make boards to keep it in. But darn it, you make it so hard to keep track of where I’ve put things! Finding the stuff I pinned a while ago is next to impossible; why couldn’t you just let me tag the things I’ve found? That way I don’t have to put this stuff in this drawer, err sorry board, and that stuff on that board. Sometimes I want stuff to go in more than one place … because it just should! We’re back to the shallowness again aren’t we? Find stuff, share it around, have others ooo and ahh, then it’s move on to the next thing.
So I’m sorry. I really am. You know it’s not you don’t you? It’s me. I’m too demanding and just can’t change.
Can we still be friends?
You have sort of summed up why I have avoided it. The other day I watched some Y13s on Twitter trying to outdo each other on who was the best to follow in terms of the ‘stoopid’ stuff they were tweeting making them a ‘lej’ and I saw the X Factor world of here today gone tomorrow worthlessness that some users of such an amazing tool can support. But it can support this because of the capacity to branch out, to connect, to move to more concrete relationships and content that lasts more than the ’5 seconds of fame’ rule. To me, pinterest has never concerned itself with that cos it is serving those who only want to consume. I’m sorry to say but in time society will pay for it’s selfish consumption…oh but hang on I am beginning to sound like an eco warrior atlking about polar ice caps now
I will leave it there and I will leave pinterest where it should be, with the mass consumers of mostly bland content
Now come on Nick. Don’t sit on the fence. Say what you really mean
In all honesty, the only thing I really got out of it was a few infographics I’d not come across before. I never got the sense of shared purpose generated through other social media platforms. I’m just not sure whether it was the environment which didn’t encourage it or me for not making enough effort.
Interesting read. I love the way you put it across, brought a number of laughs. However as of yesterday I started using Pinterest, purely because of the reasons you outlined. Its popular, its new and its the center of attention at the moment. I agree with what Nick was saying that society has its selfish consumption but surely the right people should use this to their advantage? Least s’what I’m gonna do
Thanks Mikey.
You certainly should give Pinterest a go; there are features about it which are attractive, appealing and even useful. It’s all about finding the right tools to do the job whether that’s connecting with others, seeking inspiration or harvesting resources … and Pinterest can definitely help with those.